New Jersey videogame-crafters Majesco are set to turn Martin Scorsese’s (DVDs) unflinching masterpiece Taxi Driver (DVD) into a video game.

Maybe hecklerspray has something of a limited imagination, but we really can’t imagine how this is going to work. The reason that seemingly shocking material such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City / San Andreas (games) and Manhunt (game) managed to engage the player is by wrapping everything up in a big parcel of irony – a winking undercurrent of pitch-black humour.

But Taxi Driver? A movie in which a 12 year-old prostitute is regularly beaten by a vicious druggie pimp? A story which was scribbled down in ten days by uber-genius Paul Schrader (DVDs) as he teetered upon the brink of suicide?

Not exactly the sort of thing that lends itself to the joypad, is it?

What with the recent announcement that a Godfather (DVD) game adaptation – even featuring the flabby vocal strains of the late Marlon Brando (DVDs) – is on it’s way, this could well herald the start of a new breed of (adopts trade-conference salesman voice) ‘interactive entertainment’.

The game is slated to be released on the ‘next generation‘ of consoles, whatever they may prove to be. Majesco are apparently hoping to "include talent from the film" in their sparkling project. This shouldn’t prove too difficult – has anybody seen what Bobby De Niro (DVDs) has been starring in recently? He’d do a Home Counties Primary School production of Annie if you slid him a decent enough paycheque.

Until then, Majesco have another film-based gaming adventure in mind. This summer, PS2 gamers will be treated to a button-bashing adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (DVD).

We shit you not…

[story by C J Davies]